5 Introduction Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Background According to the Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Roadmap project, CDS is providing clinicians, patients, or individuals with knowledge and person-specific or population information, intelligently filtered or present at appropriate times, to foster better health processes, better individual patient care, and better population health. (1) As noted in the Task Order for this project (HHSP T), CDS brings to daily practice the vast and expanding potential of modern clinical knowledge. CDS builds upon the foundation of an electronic health record (EHR) to provide health professionals and patients with general and person-specific information, intelligently filtered and organized, at appropriate times, to enhance health and health care. As its name implies, the purpose of CDS is to maximize the probability that clinical decisions are evidence-based and customized to the individual patient and specific clinical situation. CDS includes, but is not limited to, computerized alerts and reminders to care providers and patients, methods to bring care into compliance with clinical guidelines/protocols, condition and treatment-focused order sets, patient data reports and summaries, documentation templates, advice to promote more accurate and timely diagnoses, contextually relevant reference information, and other tools that enhance decisionmaking in clinical workflow. CDS has been shown to lead to significant quality and safety improvements in patient care and improve workflow. (2-5) For example, computerized provider order entry (CPOE) with CDS can improve medication safety and reduce medication-related expenditures because it introduces automation at the time of ordering, a key process in health care. (5, 6) Drug-allergy checking and alerting (DA) is one of the simplest yet most important CDS tools used in electronic order entry systems. A meta-analysis showed that 85 percent of CDS studies demonstrated improved outcomes, including correct dose adjustment of medications in patients with renal impairment, and reduced lengths of stay. (3) Decision support has been found to significantly improve compliance with protocols and guidelines; the percentage of clinicians who responded to patient conditions requiring attention; and appropriateness of certain radiograph orders. (2) CDS systems have the potential to improve health care quality, and also to increase efficiency and reduce health care costs. (7) Although the use of CDS has been growing, in part due to external financial incentives such as the federal Meaningful Use incentive program, CDS is still not widespread. In U.S. hospitals, less than two-thirds of hospitals have any type of CDS. (20) In 2009 it was reported that of the 44 percent of office-based practices that had an EHR, less than half of these practices were using any type of CDS. (21) Furthermore, in general, computerized order entry systems don t include much CDS (22), and the use of CDS in these systems is uneven and often limited. (23) The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes incentives to increase clinicians use of health information technology including CDS through reimbursement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Over time, these incentives will evolve into penalties for those who do not meet the Meaningful Use criteria. The CMS regulations have the potential to dramatically impact the future of CDS through bonus payments to providers and hospitals that use CDS and also by focusing on the electronic capture of underlying clinical data. Examples include drug-drug, drug-allergy and drugformulary checks, and the implementation of CDS rules targeting high priority conditions. Eligible providers and hospitals must track compliance with the alerts triggered by these rules. Also included in the incentive program are requirements for CPOE, the use of evidence-based order sets, e-prescribing, and patient reminders for preventive health testing. (8) Despite these new incentives and the proven benefits of CDS, there are many challenges and barriers to the development and implementation of CDS. Low clinician demand for CDS is an important barrier to Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 1

6 broader CDS system adoption. Clinicians lack of motivation to use CDS appears to be related to usability issues with the CDS intervention (e.g., speed, ease of use), its lack of integration into the clinical workflow, concerns about autonomy, and the legal and ethical ramifications of adhering to or overriding recommendations made by the CDS system. (7) Over-alerting and high rates of alert overrides have been widely acknowledged as a deterrent to CDS acceptance and appropriate use. (9-14) Further, a number of recent studies found no improvements from CDS implementation on quality of care (15), very low magnitude improvements (16), or worse, adverse outcomes. One study reported that after a CPOE system with drug-drug and drug-allergy alerts was implemented, the mortality rate unexpectedly jumped from 2.86% prior to implementation to 6.57% post-implementation. (17) Another reported that pharmacy CDS systems perform less than optimally with respect to identifying well-known, clinically relevant interactions. (18) A response paper by Sittig et al. examines reasons for the findings by Han et al. and discusses some of the problems with the implementation of that particular CPOE system. (19) These problems include workflow disruptions and complex transitions from manual to computer-based methods; too-short implementation periods; requiring patients to be registered in the hospital before medications could be ordered, which caused treatment delays; failure to pilot-test the system on a single unit before implementing hospital-wide; and significant and untested policy changes introduced with the CDS. Sittig et al. discuss other possible unintended consequences from CDS systems such as more or new work for clinicians; extensive system demands; and untoward changes in communication patterns and practices. These consequences can generate new types of errors and adverse outcomes. Technologies such as CDS, when implemented, are sociotechnical interactions between the information technology and the provider s organization s existing social and technical systems including their workflows, culture, and social interactions. (24, 25) As such, in a sociotechnical system many behaviors emerge out of the sociotechnical coupling, and the behavior of the overall system in any new situation can never be fully predicted from the individual social or technical components. (26) It is very difficult to empirically test which social and technology factors are associated with successful implementation of CDS and other forms of health information technology (health IT). Further, Kawamoto et al. conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials of CDS systems and were unable to identify features critical for improving clinical practice. (2) Clearly, there is a need for more studies and sharing of findings, lessons, and best practices on how to design and implement CDS to improve clinical care and reduce unintended consequences that can potentially cause harm to patients. This information will be particularly important as the number of organizations implementing CDS increases in order to qualify for financial incentives. These later adopters are more likely to have fewer resources than the earlier CDS adopters. This study and report on Lessons Learned in CDS implementation is one of the many ways the ACDS project is helping to advance the effective implementation and use of CDS. Advancing Clinical Decision Support (ACDS) As a result of the gap between CDS potential and current use, there have been calls to advance CDS through national coordinated action and efforts to ensure that usable and effective clinical decision support is widely used by providers and patients to improve health care. (1, 27-29) The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) project, Advancing Clinical Decision Support (ACDS), is timely and consistent with calls and recommendations to accelerate the successful implementation and effective use of computer-based CDS interventions, and facilitate evidence-based clinical practice and meaningful use of health IT. One of the ACDS project goals, and the purpose of this technical report, is to Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 2

7 organize and disseminate best practices in CDS implementation and design, based on research and the collection of evidence-based and experience-based lessons, useful practices, and components for CDS implementation across a range of CDS interventions. Methodology for Collection of CDS Lessons and Useful Practices In order to collect and organize important lessons, success factors, best practices (technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has proven to reliably lead to a desired result), and useful practices, the following sources and methods were employed. Many resources were employed to conduct the research for this study. Topic areas were guided by leading CDS implementation experts and thought leaders (5, 6, 29-42), and implementation resources such as the CDS Roadmap (1), the Agency for Healthcare Research CDS Consortium (43), best practice reports, and implementation guides. (39, 40, 44) A targeted literature review followed. The research covers important activities related to CDS implementation, including CDS intervention planning, change management, workflow integration, stakeholder engagement, communication, implementation management and revision, measuring results, and sustaining the CDS. Inclusionary criteria such as strength of evidence, information gap filled, and adaptability to both inpatient and outpatient care settings aided in the selection of relevant, high quality, current, and useful materials. A related ACDS product, the Compendium of Exemplary Practices (45) (Appendix A), was used as a resource and is cross-referenced within this report. Lastly, a CDS implementation schema developed under the ACDS project also informed the selection of important implementation concepts for the collection of resources. Targeted Literature Review Many of the CDS implementation lessons and practices discussed in this report were found through a targeted review of the peer-reviewed and trade literature. The literature review was conducted using an iterative process. A search strategy, primarily based on Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms that best captured the literature of interest, was developed. (Appendix B). The Oregon State Health University Physician Order Entry Team (POET) bibliography was used to supplement and refine this search strategy. Just over 200 articles resulted from the literature search. After reviewing the initial results, 156 articles were determined to be relevant to CDS implementation practices. (Appendix C) These articles were organized and tagged according to important CDS implementation concepts, based in large part by the CDS implementation schema. The tagging of these articles according to the classification schema first required the derivation of tagging terms to best fit the article content. The reviewers achieved high interrater agreement (>90%) across all 25 tagging constructs. Over 120 of the most relevant articles were reviewed for CDS implementation lessons. Lessons, best and useful practices, and tools were extracted from the literature and organized by main implementation area/topic (e.g., stakeholder engagement, training, etc). (See Appendix B for literature search terms and strategy.) Expert Advisory Committee (EAC) Request for Resources The project task leads, principal investigators, and Expert Advisory Committee (EAC) were canvassed twice for CDS implementation resources such as CDS tools and best practices, as well as contacts that might provide information and resources. This yielded a few tools, but more important, led to several CDS implementation subject matter experts to contact. Focused Discussions with Selected CDS Implementers and Other Subject Matter Experts The subtask team held informative discussions with subject matter experts to identify important CDS implementation lessons, resources, tools, and contacts to supplement what was captured in the review of Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 3

10 Collecting CDS Implementation Resources and Lessons Generally, the lessons learned were gathered for a range of CDS types (46). These include the following: 1. Documentation forms/templates (e.g., clinical documentation forms, flowsheets, assessment forms); 2. Relevant data presentations (e.g., relevant data for ordering, administration, or documentation); 3. Order/prescription creation facilitators (e.g., order sets, tools for complex ordering); 4. Protocol/pathway support (e.g., stepwise processing of multi-step protocol or guideline); 5. Reference information and guidance (e.g., link from EMR to reference information); and 6. Alerts and reminders (typically unsolicited). Where the lesson is specific to a type of CDS, it is indicated. The most common types of CDS used and the resulting lessons were for alerts, reminders, and order sets. Most providers in the sources used employed more than one type of CDS, and the lessons were typically generalized across the types of CDS. The search for and collection of resources providing lessons, best or useful practices, guides and tools also yielded the following key resources: 1. CDS Implementers Guide The 2005, 2009, and 2011 CDS Implementers Guides (39, 40, 47) are the definitive sources of CDS implementation guidance, representing the contribution of a team of CDS implementers and other experts who wrote the Guide, which included a large number of tools and case studies. The guides are owned and distributed by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and provide a wealth of lessons and tools to progressively support CDS implementation. However, because this material is proprietary, the Guide and tools within can be listed and described as an implementation resource, but not included as part of the collection of resources to be delivered to ONC under this project. 2. E-Prescribing Toolkit The AHRQ-supported toolset for e-prescribing implementation (48) provides practices with knowledge and resources to successfully implement e-prescribing and associated forms of decision support (e.g., drug interaction checking) was obtained. This toolset is currently a pilot version and not publicly available. 3. CDS New Request Form A form to submit requests from hospital clinicians to add new or revised rules and alerts was obtained. The form requires the requestor to think through and document the new CDS purpose, workflow insertion point, logic, triggers, rationale, guideline or evidence base, and other information. Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 6

11 4. Sample Alert Logic A sample flowchart for CDS rules, including a recently implemented rule set for clinical alerts related to inpatient pandemic (H1N1) vaccine rule was shared. 5. CDS Committee Cross-Fertilization Structure The composition of a hospital s CDS Governance and Committee structure was obtained from a large academic medical center. Lessons in CDS Implementation Level of Evidence As indicated above, the evidence for the content in this report was drawn from a literature review and discussions with implementers and subject matter experts. Successful implementation is a complex combination of art and science. As a result, the great majority of recommendations, lessons learned, and useful practices are based on mostly anecdotal and not empirical assessments by the literature authors or subject matter experts. Empirical studies of CDS interventions often address the impact of a particular intervention on patient outcomes. In many cases, literature authors described implementation lessons learned that they understood to be helpful to achieving a significant improvement in a given quality measure. A paper by Sobieraj et al. provides an example of this type of resource. (49) Although there is often a correlation between the success of an intervention and a successful implementation, the multiplicity of factors involved in implementing CDS make it difficult to empirically correlate any single factor (e.g., hours spent training on a clinical reminder system) to a successful outcome (e.g., increased compliance for HbA1c screening). The level of evidence within the provided recommendations ranges from anecdotal word-of-mouth (Table 1) to systematic reviews and surveys of implementation factors. Of note, many lessons were pulled from literature compiled by the POET Team. (30, 32-34, 42, 50-52). The multi-year project surveyed multiple sites about the implementation of CPOE and CDS. Systematic reviews also provided the team with robust evidence. (2, 4, 4) The lessons learned and useful practices provided in the chapters below draw from the types of evidence described above. The means by which a reader will evaluate a given source can depend on many factors. The level or strength of evidence may be one such criterion. In evaluating these lessons learned and useful practices, implementers should ask themselves: Can this lesson be of practical use in implementing CDS for my organization? Explanation of Report Structure This report is organized into chapters, each pertaining to important steps or considerations to successful CDS Implementation. Each chapter provides: Essential Principles. An overview of the essential principles of the given step or consideration, which describes why this implementation area is important to success. The essential principles are sufficiently high level that they can apply to the implementation of a single intervention or the rollout of a new system. These essential principles were also crafted to apply to any practice setting. Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 7

12 Contextual Considerations. General and specific contextual considerations, based on CDS implementation schema, literature, and expert opinion, can affect the way these lessons are applied or adapted. These contextual considerations include practice setting, size, specialty focus, and geographic location. For example, while there are general lessons around engaging clinical champions, champions in a large medical center will be different from those in a group practice. Where they are applicable, considerations or suggestions specific to different factors (usually practice setting or size) are provided. Useful Practices and Lessons Learned. These are the lessons derived from the literature, exemplary practices, and discussions with subject matter experts, organized into main lesson themes and specific examples below. Most of these lessons are based on implementation experience and expert opinion, not empirical studies which test and validate these lessons. Where there is empirical evidence, this is noted in the discussion. If it applies, the setting from which a lesson or useful practice was derived is noted. Although this lesson may be particularly helpful to the setting indicated, it does not mean that it will not be useful for other settings as well. Most of the lessons have a citation from the literature. Where there is no citation, the lesson comes from the authors themselves or is the synthesis of a common lesson found in the literature. Applicable Exemplary Practices. Where exemplary practices had lessons that applied to the lesson chapter, they were referenced with a short description of how they applied the lesson. The full description of the practices cited in the text is included in Appendix A. Other listed practices, not cited within the text, can be found in The Compendium of Exemplary Practices. (45) Other Resources. Point to related studies that applied the lesson or learned the lesson through their experiences. Often, these studies focus on systems related to CDS, such as EHRs and order entry. The chapters are ordered to reflect progressive phases or steps towards implementing and maintaining a CDS system or intervention. While this approach is helpful for purposes of organization and presentation, the reality is that many of these steps must be constantly considered. In most cases, these steps are cyclical. Within each chapter, the reader will notice that preceding and succeeding chapters are often referenced. The steps or phases covered include the following: I. Involve Stakeholders and Communicate Goals II. Assess Readiness for Implementation III. Assemble the CDS Implementation Team IV. Select Effective Clinical Leaders and Champions V. Achieve Clinician Buy-In and Support VI. Integrate CDS into Workflow VII. Plan for Successful Rollout VIII. Train and Support IX. Monitor and Evaluate CDS s Clinical Impact X. Knowledge Management Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 8

13 I. Involve Stakeholders and Communicate Goals Essential Principles: CDS implementation is a systemwide change, and as such, a range of stakeholders perspectives should be taken into account. Collaboration and communication are the glue that holds a successful CDS implementation in place. Implementation is an ongoing and iterative process. Stakeholders, objectives, clinical knowledge, and technology may change, and a strong communication strategy can help an organization manage change more effectively. Determining the type of collaboration and communication requires understanding who will be affected by the intervention and what their role will be. (46)(40)(32) This may require mapping workflows (see Ch. VI) to understand each stakeholder s role in clinical processes affected by CDS and also building relationships to understand who will be essential to the implementation team (Ch. III). If possible, every stakeholder should be given the opportunity to weigh in on the goals of the organization and how a CDS intervention might impact him or her. All affected stakeholders should agree upon these goals. No one should feel as though a change is being forced upon him or her without his or her input this is where communication is imperative. It is important to recognize how the motivating factors might influence the implementation and acceptance of an intervention or a system. Agreeing and collaborating on specific goals will be easier if these motivations are recognized. There are many different motivators to adopt CDS. Both external and internal factors may push adoption of a CDS system of intervention. (40) Below are some examples of both external and internal motivating factors. External Motivators: Meaningful Use, Pay-for-Performance, Quality Measures Reporting. Internal Motivators: Clinical Quality or Safety Goals, Workflow Efficiencies, or other stakeholder uses for CDS interventions. Contextual Considerations: The goals of CDS implementation may range from implementing a single intervention to improve selected quality areas, to implementing an entirely new CDS system with multiple alerts and reminders. Part of finding agreement in these objectives means understanding the goals of the different stakeholders. The size, structure, leadership, and other aspects of organizational culture can impact communication with stakeholders. Large Hospital or Health Network: The size of the organization or geographical distance between stakeholders may be a barrier to effective communication and collaboration. Community Hospital: Successful implementation in community hospitals may depend less on mandating use, which is a common strategy in teaching hospitals that have house officers, and more on the existence and development of an organizational culture of collaboration and trust. USEFUL PRACTICES and LESSONS LEARNED Engage essential stakeholders. Meet with key local committees, positions, and individuals engaged in activities pertinent to an organizational CDS initiative, and document their potential goals and objectives for the CDS program. (40) Those impacted by the planned interventions should be supporting and championing the intervention. (40) Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 9

14 It is essential to engage resistors and detractors in active dialogue they can be a critical source of feedback about the program and play an important role in its success or failure. (40) Start by agreeing on goals and clinical objectives for the CDS intervention. Synthesize and validate a unified working list of organizational goals and objectives for your CDS program. Break down each high-level goal into a set of more specific clinical goals, and then break down each clinical goal into measurable clinical objectives. Define baseline and target performance pertinent to each objective. (40) It is most helpful if a clear and compelling clinical problem is recognized within the organization (e.g., patients with hyperkalemia are receiving supplemental potassium leading to complications from excessive potassium.) Approach CDS deployment with the End in Mind ; make the case with stakeholders by focusing on the desired benefits and outcomes from CDS adoption. Implementation should be a culmination of the groundwork laid by excellent planning, communication, and processes. (52, 53) When forced to adopt CDS by external mandate in the absence of common goals, users may actively resist the technology, misuse it, or otherwise not utilize it in the manner intended by its designers. Thus, the gains realized from technology use are likely to be minimal. (54) Workflow analysis is a critical consideration in implementation (Ch. VI). Workflow analyses should identify all impacted processes and people. This is often not obvious until thoughtful analysis of the CDS workflow is undertaken. (55) Workflow analyses need to identify both the formal, official workflow, and any mismatches in actual practice such as common work-arounds. The best CDS tool for a workflow that exists only on paper will remain unused by clinicians. Workflow implications for different stakeholders need to be considered and addressed in advance of formal implementation are users following designed workflows and are they comfortable with them and the functionalities that would be impacted by the intervention (e.g., medication reconciliation)? (47) Facilitate communication within and across health system settings. The implementation efforts could be centralized and coordinated across affiliated hospitals, with members from each hospital within the network being represented on the implementation team. This permits the voices of each hospital to be heard, but the overarching QI goals and standardization requirements of the network are achieved. It also promotes local buy-in when representatives can become local champions in later phases of implementation. This strategy works best when each hospital has similar QI/QA goals or the administrative leadership is strong. This centralized approach is also necessary when the Clinical Information System (CIS) and EMR support are extensively shared within the network (56) Setting: Large Hospital Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 10

15 With a strong network culture, centralize implementation with representation from each hospital to achieve a greater standard of care or when using with a centralized CIS. In networks where it is especially difficult to facilitate face-to-face or phone conversation, online portals or other methods for collaborative document sharing and commenting have been used to garner stakeholder input. These have the advantage of being asynchronous which allows the user to provide input at their convenience. This is also a disadvantage because there are times when a conversation is more fruitful and feedback is often limited. Networks that have implemented online portals often couple them with occasional phone conversations. These portals are also often used to suggest, vet, or create order sets. (42, 57) Cross-pollinating relevant committees can facilitate communication and collaboration. At the University of Illinois Medical Center (Appendix A), it has become a useful practice to have members of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee sit on the CDS Committee. (58) Setting: Large Hospital APPLICABLE EXEMPLARY PRACTICES Regional/National Health Systems/Networks: Adventist Health System Adventist will have achieved 100 percent compliance with Meaningful Use criteria. The applicable lessons are their early engagement of stakeholders and online collaboration for CDS vetting. Inpatient, Academic Medical Center: University of Illinois Medical Center University of Illinois organizational structure has been a vital part of the success of its CDS program. Inpatient, Community Hospitals: Wishard Memorial Hospital Wishard has found the exchange of ideas outside of the own organization important to the successful use of CDS. OTHER RESOURCES Agarwal R, Angst CM, DesRoches CM, Fischer MA. Technological viewpoints (frames) about electronic prescribing in physician practices. J Am Med Inform Assoc Jul-Aug;17(4): The article categorizes physicians viewpoints of electronic prescribing (erx). Via physician interviews, the article emphasizes physician viewpoint and involvement in the implementation process. Ash JS, Fournier L, Stavri PZ, Dykstra R. Principles for a successful computerized physician order entry implementation. AMIA Annu Symp Proc. 2003: Ash provides an assessment of the essential principles for effective CPOE implementation. Due to their high level, many of these principles including the section on collaboration can applied to the implementation of CDS. Degnan D, Merryfield D, Hultgren S. Reaching out to clinicians: Implementation of a computerized alert system. J Healthc Qual Nov-Dec;26(6): The case study provides a description of the implementation of a CDS system within a local health network. Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 11

16 Harrison MI, Koppel R, Bar-Lev S. Unintended consequences of information technologies in health care-- an interactive sociotechnical analysis. J Am Med Inform Assoc Sep-Oct;14(5): The article uses a conceptual model called the Interactive Sociotechnical Analysis (ISTA) to frame unintended consequences. The authors suggest that although many of the problems associated with health information technology (health IT) implementation derive from technical and design factors, sociotechnical factors play a larger role than generally anticipated. Jenders RA, Osheroff JA, Sittig DF, Pifer EA, Teich JM. Recommendations for clinical decision support deployment: Synthesis of a roundtable of medical directors of information systems. AMIA Annu Symp Proc. 2007: This article is based on a roundtable discussion of CMIOs. It provides practical advice for CDS implementation and highlights the importance of communication and consensus for successful deployment. Lorenzi NM, Novak LL, Weiss JB, Gadd CS, Unertl KM. Crossing the implementation chasm: A proposal for bold action. J Am Med Inform Assoc May-Jun;15(3): Lorenzi et al. suggest having a shared audacious goal as a success factor for implementation. An important part of selecting this goal is to understand the context within the practice setting. Sobieraj DM. Development and implementation of a program to assess medical patients need for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis. Am J Health Syst Pharm Sep 15;65(18): The case study describes the implementation of a VTE Prophylaxis CDS program. The description of the implementation includes collaboration between stakeholders and suggested useful practices. The implementation took place in a large, urban, inpatient setting. Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 12

17 II. Assess Readiness for Implementation Essential Principles: A readiness assessment is vital to the success of the implementation of a CDS system or intervention because it provides information about the degree to which the organization can adapt to change. A well-executed readiness assessment can provide an understanding of the organizational culture and the viewpoints of end-users and other stakeholders. Importantly, assessment of these factors will point to weak areas that must be addressed. Routinely considering these principles and gaps will help to ensure a meaningful intervention. A formal assessment can also help to understand where each stakeholder stands in regard to the change. (39) Some factors to be considered while assessing readiness (59): Medical staff experience with existing clinical systems and information technology It is important to recognize the barriers presented by working with current or planned technology. Some clinicians may be using clinical documentation or CPOE at substandard levels, and additional CDS could exacerbate these issues. Once identified, these barriers can be addressed through additional trainings or technical support. Opinions regarding a desirable future state for clinical system usage Part of collaborating with stakeholders means coming to a consensus about the desired outcomes of the intervention(s). It is important to reach out to the end-users to discover how they might see a new system being beneficial or detrimental to themselves or the organization as a whole. The characteristics of optimal workflows to support efficient, safe, and cost-effective patient care Knowing the desired workflow for the CDS intervention is an important step in a successful implementation (Ch. VI). The use of CDS may require adjustments to workflow. Any new workflow must fit within the reality of an organization s existing culture and processes, not on wishful thinking about how is it imagined or specified on paper to supposedly or ideally be functioning. Perceptions and experiences with barriers to achieving change and physician buy-in in the organization Understanding an organization s culture and past history surrounding change is an important factor to consider. If psychological barriers to change are identified, it is important to acknowledge the issue and try to alleviate fears. Contextual Considerations: Factors determining readiness mirror the considerations for facilitating communication. The degree to which a CDS implementer can understand the varying viewpoints and gauge the organizational structures depends on how well the affected organization can be canvassed. The size of the organization and the available resources may affect the robustness of a readiness assessment. Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 13

18 USEFUL PRACTICES and LESSONS LEARNED Gauge Stakeholder Viewpoints and Acceptance Get input from many stakeholders who will be affected by the CDS. Expose a wider spectrum of users to the new intervention(s) prelaunch than might have been engaged at earlier stages; listen carefully to their feedback and its implications for the workflow and other changes that will be needed after launch. (39) Determine the extent to which end-users buy-in (Ch. V) to achieving the targets on which the CDS interventions are focused. (39) Several tools are useful in setting expectations and assessing institutional readiness. Tools to gather firsthand experiences, such as surveys, interviews, and structured focus groups, form the core of the information capture. (59) Some important dimensions to be captured by readiness tools are whether there are specific goals linked to the CDS, previous experience with implementing health information technology, or resources available to support the CDS implementation. Are there sufficient internal and external IT staff to successfully implement and provide technical support? Are there champions and leaders for the CDS? Are practice members committed to a successful CDS implementation? (48) Take Necessary Actions to Achieve Readiness If the assessment reveals lack of readiness, it is advisable to postpone the CDS implementation and work on areas where readiness is lacking. (48) If there is initial user resistance to change due to new job roles and definitions, retraining may be required, which may incur costs. (54) It may be necessary to spend time building expertise at accomplishing and sustaining change. (60) OTHER RESOURCES Agarwal R, Angst CM, DesRoches CM, Fischer MA. Technological viewpoints (frames) about electronic prescribing in physician practices. J Am Med Inform Assoc Jul-Aug;17(4): The frames described in the article categorize the different viewpoints of end-users (e.g., system as efficiency and effectiveness tools, system as necessary evil, system as core to clinical workflow, etc.). The author found framing perspectives helpful to understanding readiness. Dubenske LL, Chih MY, Dinauer S, Gustafson DH, Cleary JF. Development and implementation of a clinician reporting system for advanced stage cancer: Initial lessons learned. J Am Med Inform Assoc Sep-Oct;15(5): This case study describes how an academic medical center (University of Wisconsin) implemented a clinical reporting system. The readiness was first assessed by considering seven categories: organizational environment; organizational motivation; technology usefulness; promotion; implementation process; department-technology fit; and key personnel awareness and support. Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 14

19 Harrison MI, Koppel R, Bar-Lev S. Unintended consequences of information technologies in health care-- an interactive sociotechnical analysis. J Am Med Inform Assoc Sep-Oct;14(5): Within the discussion of unintended consequences and their solutions, the authors discuss some of the possible impacts of health IT on workflow and the user. These assessments may be helpful to considering readiness. Stablein D, Welebob E, Johnson E, Metzger J, Burgess R, Classen DC. Understanding hospital readiness for computerized physician order entry. Jt Comm J Qual Saf Jul;29(7): This paper provides an extensive look at many of the characteristics of understanding readiness for CPOE. The factors mentioned are high-level enough that they apply to implementation of HIT in general. Williams RB. Successful computerized physician order entry system implementation. Tools to support physician-driven design and adoption. Healthc Leadersh Manag Rep Oct;10(10):1-13. Apart from also providing steps to readiness, within the article Williams provides tools and surveys related to creating a physician-driven system. Some of these tools are specific to CDS. Large hospitals or health networks may also find his assessments of the organization structures helpful. Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 15

20 III. Assemble the CDS Implementation Team Essential Principles: Making sure that goals are agreed upon, lines of communication are open (Ch. II), and that a readiness assessment (Ch. III) has been done, are essential to assembling a CDS implementation team composed of clinicians, information technologists, managers, and evaluators to work together to develop, customize and implement the CDS. It is important to understand what support is needed and who is available to provide that support. Selecting this team must be about the role, but also the type of person who fills that role. Stakeholders dedicated to the objectives of an intervention, but flexible enough to consider and implement feedback, can be valuable members of the team. Stakeholders who are held in high regard by the end-users may be particularly helpful to achieving buy-in (Ch. V). (34) This team must help to align all other stakeholders with the objectives of the intervention. They must be dedicated to managing the rollout (Ch. VII) and the training (Ch. VIII) as well as handling feedback (Ch. IX) and knowledge management (Ch. X). They can be influential in facilitating open communication between themselves and other end-users (Ch. I). Collectively, the team should possess the following knowledge and qualities: Understand the workflows and attitudes of the end-users and others affected by the CDS intervention; Understand how to adapt the technology as much as able (either by ideally utilizing out of the box vendor products, adapting vendor products, or writing in-house rules); Have the right degree of flexibility to adapt well, but not lose sight of the objective. Contextual Considerations: At a high-level, determination of the size and members of the implementation team depends on two key factors: the size of the organization and the robustness of the CDS program. Organizations have found that as the number and complexity of interventions increase, the need for leadership does as well (El Camino, Appendix A). While all role responsibilities listed in the Useful Practices and Lessons Learned section likely apply to each setting, the stakeholder s title may vary. Smaller settings may combine multiple roles, while larger settings may find that certain roles can be broken down further across multiple professionals. USEFUL PRACTICES and LESSONS LEARNED Understand the stakeholder roles required for successful implementation. There are many different roles that must be played in a successful implementation. A possible list of pertinent roles with a description of each is provided below. (23, 34, 36, 37, 39, 40, 46) - Implementation Manager: The implementation manager is responsible for assigning ownership and tracking completion of the all implementation tasks. This person will report back to the team on how the project is progressing, what challenges have been overcome, and what challenges lie ahead. The team can then plan how to best address those challenges as a whole. - Chief Executive Officer: At the level of administrative leadership, the CEO is important to providing both vision and support. Ideally he or she must connect well with the staff and take feedback into account in his or her leadership. (34) Key Lessons in Clinical Decision Support Implementation 16

Dr. Peters has declared no conflicts of interest related to the content of his presentation. Steve G. Peters MD NAMDRC 2013 No financial conflicts No off-label usages If specific vendors are named, will

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